This is a perfect time to read Chris Capozzola’s Uncle Sam Wants You, of which there’s a short article excerpt here, on (his phrase) “coercive voluntarism” and the US in World War I. It’ll sound more familiar to you than you might think.

I’m on the fence about this. On the one hand, I support citizens being part of their own defense. On the other, this feels like the start of Brown Shirts. I’m not even sure I can articulate a clearer message: report obviously wrong things, but don’t be a d-bag.

Wow. I’ll totally be replaying and replaying Burroughs’s thanksgiving prayer over and over this year. “Thanks for a country where nobody’s allowed to mind his
own business. Thanks for a nation of FINKS.”